Thursday, October 31, 2013

I grew up near to a tiny shopping centre and the only place to buy clothes was Primark and the world's smallest branch of New Look. So I've basically watched Primark develop from a basics, mumsy, 'don't tell anyone this is from Primark!' kind of store to quite the front runner of fashion in 2013.

This year's A/W collection does not disappoint.

See for yourself (and prepare for an image overload...)

So it looks way more expensive than Primark, right?

My favourite thing about this collection is the textures. A great variety of textures is key to building layers during A/W and these pieces are spot on.

I love all these items but I know what you're thinking.. 'Primark clothes last for five minutes..' or ' yeah, I might see that item in a magazine but it will never be in my local store..' Unfortunately, I think that is the price you pay for cheaper items. Primark will never be a luxury clothing brand and the content in their stores vary greatly, but they're investing a lot more into their quality and their designs, as you can see from this amazing, on-trend and unexpected collection.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

So, I did something really stupid yesterday.. Still not entirely sure how it happened, but remember Wish List #2? The one with about 30 items (Tom Ford Lipstick, ASOS notebooks, Illamasqua Nail Varnish ...) that took all day for me to write? The most popular post on my page?

Well, I deleted it. I was going to edit something but then my hands went crazy and clicked delete..

So, sorry if you wanted to buy something from there but here's Wish List #4 for more ideas (or should it be called Wish List #3 now...?)

1. I absolutely love the colour of this clutch from ASOS! It's made of faux pony hair which I think reflects light amazingly and you can also get it in yellow and acid pink!

2. Next, is this tea dress from Fashion Union in a dogtooth print under some scattered roses. This is a really cute, easy to wear dress which I would wear with tartan coat because clashing prints is definitely my favourite trend this season!

3. Jumpsuits are a great item that can be taken easily from daywear into evening. This Pink Sateen one from New Look is a lovely simple design and could be worn over a white shirt in the day and accessorised with gold at night. It also comes in three more colours including a rich navy shade and they're only £27.99!

4. Primark have upped their game like no other this A/W. This rusty red jumper is amazing and I love the winding rope features on the front. It looks a lot more expensive than the £16 price tag and would look really cool with some leather!

5. Yes, this is another pair of white shoes that I need to show you. I don't know what the obsession is but the price of these Martie Loafers from Topshop really got me - £32! They also come in so many other colours and variations. I love every pair!

6. This chunky gold necklace is from my current favourite, Matalan. I recently got a chunky gold ID necklace from Ebay and whilst I love and wear it with everything, it's a little too lightweight and plastic. This one, however is perfect and would really cute with the New Look jumpsuit!

7. Lastly, for those who read yesterday's post you will have seen that I won a £100 giftcard to spend at Next. Today, new items have been added to the Winter collection and I am in love with this jacket! Such an amazing colour and would be a great evening coat. I'll have to decided if I'm going to have this one soon because it's almost sold out!

Keep an eye out this week for my Primark A/W favourites for this year. I'm currently trying to narrow it down to a bloggable amount!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being invited to the Next Blogger Network Workshop in the beautiful Apartment at The Hoxton Hotel! This was an amazing opportunity to meet fellow bloggers, mingle with Next and check out their Christmas Collection and learn how to improve our own platforms with the help of some famous online faces! I love the relationship that Next has with the blogging community so this was a lovely event to be a part of! It was also my first blogger event, so I was a tiny bit nervous but so excited!

The workshops gave a great insight into the history of each speaker's blog and invaluable tips on how to make mine better. I have to say that I was particularly impressed with the Brand and Advertising workshop, in particular, the success of Abi Marvel at only 21! For those that don't know, Abi started her blog in 2008 and has progressed to a fashion and media icon and entrepreneur - through her events company The Apartment. It goes to show that if you have no limits and give it your everything, you can achieve anything you want.

In between each workshop, we were treated to some beautiful food and a tuck shop (which was pretty much raided by the time I got to it!)

There were also a series of competitions running through the day and I actually won one! Thanks to some Snapchat Bingo I have a £100 gift card to spend in Next! Be sure to keep reading my page to see what I bought!

The workshop was amazing and I learned so much! My page is probably going to be a bit of a mess in the next few days as I take on board all the advice I was given and give my blog a big face lift! There is a huge list of edits that I planned on the train home in my goody bag notebook!

Thank you so much Next for an amazing day and I definitely think you should host another workshop soon!